The local news is beside itself with excitement about the snow that is already coming down in Georgia and is now headed towards Savannah! They started crowing about it last night and have not stopped since. My flipster is out and ready to roll if it really does happen. NPR said that it's been 14 years since the last snowfall. I have a distinct memory of a tiny "snowfall" that blew in during the '90's. I remember it because Pete was in the backyard as the snowflakes began to fall. He was excited enough to tear around the yard as the flakes swirled through the air. We got Pete in late spring of 1996, so it must have been the following winter, in '96.
It's freezing today, a penetrating damp cold. This is the coldest winter I remember in Savannah. It's usually fairly mild by mid-February.
Yesterday, I learned something from one of the teachers at my school who is, quite frankly, a gossip. But one can learn a lot from workplace gossips! They have their ears to the ground 24/7 and don't hestitate to pass on any news. She hates her job and hates the school and wants to move on, so she asked if I would read her application letters and resume for college jobs she's pursuing. We met after school yesterday, and I gave suggestions on revisions. After that, we fell into a discussion about school politics, and that's when I learned that "they"---the future principal for next year, currently an AP; and the future AP, currently the Curriculum Director---are already "targeting" the teachers whom they want to quit so that they don't have to think of an excuse to fire them. They are doing this by finding something nitpicking that's wrong with their teaching, then inviting them to the office for a verbal attack. One teacher was brought to the office for a verbal assault because she spent the last five minutes of class handing out a homework assignment instead of teaching "bell to bell." My friend also told me about several teachers whom the Administration dislikes, usually women, and that their strategy is to make these teachers miserable and humiliated enough to quit at the end of the year. It was comforting, at least, to know that several teachers besides myself are targeted for dismissal. The teacher who told me this is a SPED support teacher, so she visits teachers' classrooms all day. She said that the adminstration's targeting has nothing to do with quality of teaching. Some teachers who don't do squat are NOT in disfavor with the Administration; others who work their butts off ARE in disfavor, but for no logical reason other than the fact that these two women administrators favor male teachers and dislike female teachers. In addition, they plan to twist the "last-hired" formula for budget cut dismissals so they can remove people they don't like, even if they were not "last-hired." It's all very interesting, isn't it? Ask me if I care.
It's a three-day weekend. Tomorrow, Liberto and I will get our taxes done. I started to do it myself and managed to calculate how much our refund will be, but there are still a few questions we need an expert to handle, so we'll let H & R finish what I started. I also have a hair appointment tomorrow. In addition, we're refinancing the house at a lower interest rate, so we need to get a few more forms in. We've been approved for a nice low 15-year interest rate, pending a little paperwork. On Monday, President's Day, I have my dreaded dentist appointment, the next stage of my implant procedure, in which they will do a CT scan of my whole head, to see if the implants can be done at all. Apparently, they can't tell for sure without a scan. Sounds like we will have a fun-filled weekend of routine but necessary activities.
Now I'm going to stand at the back door and await the snow!
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